I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable lifts or mooring devices for watercraft and, more particularly, to a lightweight, knock-down portable watercraft lift or mooring device for supporting watercraft out of the water for storage which is easily assembled, disassembled and transported.
II. Related Art
Small watercraft including personal watercraft have long been used by a very large number of people for a variety of purposes and on a variety of waterways. Uses have included sports such as racing and waterskiing, fishing and pleasure cruising. These uses take place on a variety of waterways including oceans, inland lakes and rivers and may involve using a watercraft in areas where typically there are no docking facilities or other provisions for securing or mooring the watercraft when it is not in use. This has led to the necessity, at times, of tying the watercraft to a tree along the shore or to a stake driven into the ground at the shore which allows the watercraft to remain in a vulnerable position with regard to repeated collisions with the bottom of the waterway or an adjacent bank. If docking facilities are available, in certain cases, tying the watercraft to a dock also exposes the watercraft to wakes and waves which may cause repeated contact with the dock which also can cause undesirable damage.
One alternative, of course, is to take the watercraft completely out of the water and store it, for example, on a trailer until the next use. This, of course, requires extra time-consuming labor and usually requires the watercraft to be returned to the spot where it was launched each time it is taken out of use.
Thus, it would clearly be desirable if a portable lift/mooring device were available which would enable the watercraft to be safely left at the edge of a waterway in a manner such that it would not be affected by the movement of the water. In addition, if such a device were lightweight and easily assembled and disassembled, it could be carried on the watercraft so that the watercraft could be stored on the watercraft lift at any location desired by the user.